Tuesday, December 29, 2009

Mr. Herbert, it is safe to assume, is left of center. HIs columns run from social trends to politics to urban affairs, but always with a liberal viewpoint. It was with much surprise that I saw this article from him in the Headlines section of Hot Air (I don't really make a practice of reading the NY Times if I can avoid it - I get dizzy from the spin and my stomach just isn't up for it anymore).

The article discusses the true ramifications and sneaky hidden taxes that the democrats have set us up for.

It is a surprisingly frank and critical piece, which gives me hope that there are some rational people out there who aren't blindly following the party line. It really starts out with quite a bang:

There is a middle-class tax time bomb ticking in the Senate’s version of President Obama’s effort to reform health care.

He goes on to describe the "confiscatory 40 percent tax" on Cadillac health plans.

In fact, it’s a tax that in a few years will hammer millions of middle-class policyholders, forcing them to scale back their access to medical care.

Which is exactly what the tax is designed to do.

\He goes on to explain how the rising costs of health care are going to eventually lead to an increase in the number of families hit by this tax.

Within three years of its implementation, according to the Congressional Budget Office, the tax would apply to nearly 20 percent of all workers with employer-provided health coverage in the country, affecting some 31 million people. Within six years, according to Congress’s Joint Committee on Taxation, the tax would reach a fifth of all households earning between $50,000 and $75,000 annually. Those families can hardly be considered very wealthy.

Finally, somebody on the left gets it! Not only that, but he also sees the "dirty little secret" of the bill:

Proponents say the tax will raise nearly $150 billion over 10 years, but there’s a catch. It’s not expected to raise this money directly. The dirty little secret behind this onerous tax is that no one expects very many people to pay it. The idea is that rather than fork over 40 percent in taxes on the amount by which policies exceed the threshold, employers (and individuals who purchase health insurance on their own) will have little choice but to ratchet down the quality of their health plans.

According to Herbert. this means saying buh-bye to dental, vision, and mental health coverage. I guess those things aren't a right. The whole purpose of health care 'reform' was to bring down costs, wasn't it? Well, it turns out that this bill is actually going to cost us a hell of a lot more than if we were to just allow the current system to 'skyrocket' like they keep squawking about.

So on top of our regular premiums (which most liberals will happily concede are too high - thus the desperate need for health care 'reform'), we will have to pay a 40% tax. Okay, we don't want to pay the tax, so we decide to get cheaper insurance, usually meaning less insurance. Which means we pay less right? Technically, yes, but not really, because now we will have higher deductibles, so in an effort to save on those costs, we will be less likely to go to the doctor. Good for the system - keeps wait times down - but bad for us, because that also means there will be more people waiting until a condition really gets bad before getting treated. This, of course, means more expensive treatments - a larger portion of which will be coming out of our own pockets. Gee, whatever happened to more preventative care, anyway? This bill is the exact opposite of that promise. Seems to be par for the course, these days....

But I digress. There are just so many points of attack on this bill that it is easy to get sidetracked. Let's get to the dirty little secret that "requires a monumental suspension of disbelief":

According to the Joint Committee on Taxation, less than 18 percent of the revenue will come from the tax itself. The rest of the $150 billion, more than 82 percent of it, will come from the income taxes paid by workers who have been given pay raises by employers who will have voluntarily handed over the money they saved by offering their employees less valuable health insurance plans.

Can you believe it?

So...now the liberals are telling us that the greedy corporate fat-cat pillagers are going to take the savings they will be raking in from the cheaper insurance policies their employees will be federally mandated and taxed into settling for will be rolled over into raises for said employees. Which our betters in government will then tax heavily to subsidize someone else's health care - quite possibly a nice little union cadillac plan with dental, vision and mental health coverage. What are the odds that the formerly evil demonspawn CEO's (now reformed into kindly, benevolent givers of 'trickle-up' economic stimulus, apparently) will so generously reward their workers for the savings pouring into their coffers? Mr. Herbert asks Richard Trumka, president of theAFL-CIO:

I had to wait for him to stop laughing to get his answer. “If you believe that,” he said, “I have some oceanfront property in southwestern Pennsylvania that I will sell you at a great price.”

Bah, that's just one guy, the liberals sneer.

A survey of business executives by Mercer, a human resources consulting firm, found that only 16 percent of respondents said they would convert the savings from a reduction in health benefits into higher wages for employees. Yet proponents of the tax are holding steadfast to the belief that nearly all would do so.

Hope springs eternal, no?

Mr. Herbert seems to be of the opinion that the powers that be need to level with the American public on the realities of this bill. In a rare cry for truth and transparency from the left, he finishes as strongly as he started:

The tax on health benefits is being sold to the public dishonestly as something that will affect only the rich, and it makes a mockery of President Obama’s repeated pledge that if you like the health coverage you have now, you can keep it.

Those who believe this is a good idea should at least have the courage to be straight about it with the American people.

Amen.

So when do you think he will be denounced and ridiculed by the left for refusing to toe the party line? I bet he was bouight by those mean old insurance companies....
Read more...

Friday, December 25, 2009

Today I celebrate the birth of my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. It is a solemn occasion, but also one of great joy. It is a day of real Hope, a day to remember all of the blessings God has bestowed. As challenging as this year has been, there are just so many, many things to be thankful for.

My beloved husband, the light of my life, tops the list. It's been nearly 20 years since he strode into my life, and I still can't belive my good fortune. I thank God for him every single day. His love has kept me going through good times and bad, his broad shoulders easily carry the weight of my tears, fears, and inner demons. He is my sounding board and the one who can make me laugh through it all. God truly smiled on me the day He brought this wonderful man into my life.

Without Him, I would not have my other two greatest gifts - my darling daughters. My miracle babies who are growing into such fine young ladies. Through the grace of God I became a mother, and my life suddenly had meaning. All I do, all I am, is because of them. They truly are gifts from God, created by His own hand. They fill my life with joy and laughter, and every day I thank Him for showing me that doctors don't always know everything, and Faith can be a strong medicine, indeed. Those two little bright lights give me the strength and hope to keep fighting, because I fight for them.

I thank God, too for the rest of my family; parents, siblings, aunts, cousins and all. I may not always agree with them, I may not always like them, but I do always love them, and I count them all as blessings. I thank Him for my friends, as well - the family that we choose - and I ask Him to bless them as He has blessed me.

And I thank him for this wonderful country of which I am so blessed to be a part. We truly live in the greatest nation the world has ever known. The Jews may be His chosen people, but this country, these United States, are his chosen land. We are a strong nation, but we are also the kindest and most generous. It is our Judeo-Christian ethic that makes it so. Liberty is a God-given right, and no other nation holds that right in such high esteem.

Which brings me to my final blessing - my voice, and those who hear me. I thank God for all of you, who read my words and take a piece of my torch and carry it on to others. Between us all, we will carry the light of Liberty through the darkness that has enveloped us. Together we will bring a new day of Hope, real Hope, and we will return this country to it's rightful path. Yes, God is my Shepherd, but I see myself more as His loyal sheepdog, keeping the wolves at bay as He leads his flock through this tempestuous storm. But I couldn't do it without all of you, and I thank Him every day for the blessing of knowing I am not alone, that all of you are out there, listening, heeding the call, and uniting with me against the wolves at our doorstep.

Tuesday, December 22, 2009

My children have been fans of build-a-bear for a while now, but I'm afraid those days are over. They will have to be happy with the ones they have, because we won't be getting them any more.

Build-a-bear has a website - Build-a-Bearville.com - where kids can play games and watch short videos. No big deal, right?

Wrong.

Turns out some of those videos are AGW alarmist propaganda. The basic plot of the three part series is that global warming is threatening Christmas. Apparently Santa will be unable to make the rounds this year because of the horrible effects of global warming.

This is indoctrination at it's sleaziest.

Check out the videos. I have sent an email to the website letting them know they have lost my business, and I urge you to do the same.

I am getting tired of my children being targeted by these radical alarmists and their indoctrination tactics.

I object to your three part Santa video and it's alarmist mentality. I, like many other parents, do not believe in anthropogenic global warming and will not allow my children to be indoctrinated by you or anyone else.

Children the world over are suffering with anxiety issues due to the crazy alarmist claptrap being spouted in their schools and elsewhere about a science that is questionable, at best. The fact that you are now using a beloved childhood character, Santa, to forward the alarmist agenda is sleazy in the extreme and completely unacceptable.

Until you remove those offensive videos I will no longer be giving you one thin dime of my money.

This insanity must stop, but it won't until we let the alarmists know we aren't buying what they're selling.

And the left reacts (predictably, of course). It's just a harmless video, it isn't scaring people - those right-wing zealots are! BTW, imagine Santa's carbon footprint - he runs a factory, for heaven's sake, and rides in a sleigh with 8 or 9 reindeer. If a dog is equal to an SUV, then I would imagine reindeer are like a Gulfstream jet - and he has the nerve to use 9 of them!! He deserves what he gets. Besides, isn't his factory impinging on polar bear hunting grounds? And what about all of those non-union elves? Don't even get me started on those poor, innocent reindeer, lashed to a heavy vehicle being driven by an obese, whip-wielding madman! They need an attorney, pronto!
Read more...

Monday, December 21, 2009

Yet again the bar is lowered on the education of our children. In Washington state, the school superintendent is trying to delay the proficiency requirements for graduating students in science, reading and math. Since there are so many students who are apparently not meeting the criteria to graduate, he has decided the only option is to lower the bar and graduate them anyway.

Thankfully there are many influential people, from business leaders to politicians to billionaires, who are rejecting this scheme.

According to Fox News, the superintendent, Randy Dorn, has said that the state "has a trainwreck coming down the pike". There are 40,000 kids in the state who cannot pass the math and science proficiency exit exams required to graduate. He also feels that most of those children don't need to be proficient in algebra, trigonometry or calculus.

Interesting theory, considering Washington state is the home of Microsoft. Bill Gates is on record saying he opposes this plan, citing having to go to India and Pakistan for employees who are computer savvy.

In this technological day and age, we need more students excelling in math, science and reading, not less.

Perhaps if our schools were not held hostage by unions who make it impossible to fire bad teachers to make way for good, there would be better test results. Dorn says that there needs to be more than just a 'one size fits all' approach to education, and that many students are falling through the cracks. Interestingly enough, though, students in Washington DC, one of the most liberal progressive districts in the country with one of the worst track records for graduation, when offered a chance to go to private schools who do not cater to their minority status, excelled beyond all expectation.

And what has happened to those kids? Most of them not only graduated, but an absolutely staggering majority of them (as compared to their peers in public school) went on to college. Unfortunately, the unions have put the kibosh on this program and it has been shut down.

Saturday, December 19, 2009

The other night, our esteemed Representatives scuttled from Washington like cockroaches when the light is turned on, heading for home, vacation or Copenhagen after a few last minute votes, including for the $174 billion jobs bill. They also passed a $636 billion defense bill, $128 billion of which is going to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. There is no provision for the Afghan surge Obama has ordered, mind you, and a large portion of the money in the bill is going to short term extensions for unemployment benefits, health care subsidies for the jobless, doctor payments, the federal highway and transit system and the Patriot act. But all $636 billion will be calculated as war debt, naturally. If the wars aren't expensive enough to make people lose heart, they will make them so, it seems.

Remember just a few years ago when they were squabbling over any bills costing more than $100 billion? Now they are passing $1.1 trillion bills without a second thought (and barely a peep from the media) - and hurling insults at anyone who has the temerity to question the speed and size of the legislation.

The jobs bill, as usual, does very little for actually creating jobs. There's plenty of unemployment relief and additional funding for teachers and firefighters, as well as 'new initiatives' for infrastructure issues like repairing roads and bridges. Didn't the first stimulus, that is barely half spent, cover all of that? Or was that just the bill of goods they sold us?

The bills today have officially put America over it's debt limit, so at least there's that....Oh, wait...never mind. They just raised the debt ceiling by $280 billion. Reminds me of the old joke 'we can't be broke - we still have checks!'

The insane spending has got to stop. These bills are so full of earmarks - which both parties are guilty of indulging in - that it is getting harder and harder to determine what the original purpose was. Not that it really matters anyway, since they can't be bothered to read them and we seem to only get them hours before a vote and barely have time.

With all of the tricks and sneaky closed door dealings going on, it's time we started using their own tactics against them. One of their favorite ways to get public support for the bill is guilt - 'so you want people to die?!' Or maybe, 'Oh, you must be one of those greedy selfish types who don't believe in fairness and social justice...'

Maybe it's time to use the power of guilt on them. Let's remind them who the real victims are. We need to start bringing our children to the Capitol. Perhaps seeing those little faces in the gallery will remind them whose money they are spending.

Wednesday, December 16, 2009

CNSNews has a report out on another little selling point for the senate version of ObamaCare.

According to the article, families making more than $88,000 per year may be subject to a federally mandated insurance 'fee' of $15,200.

A family of four—two parents and two children—earning $88,200 would be at 400 percent of the poverty level this year, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. A family of four earning $88,201, therefore, would not be eligible for a federal subsidy to buy insurance under the Senate health-care bill. If the mother and father in such a family could not get employer-based health insurance—because their employers decided not to buy their workers insurance—the family would be required by law to purchase a policy with its own money that would cost an estimated $15,200 per year, according to the CBO.

In case you were wondering, a $15,200 'fee' on a family of four making $88,201 is roughly 1/6th of their income.

What are the odds these workers will have to pay this premium?

The bill imposes a maximum fine of only $750 per worker on employers with more than 50 workers who do not buy insurance for their workers. Thus employers will face a choice: Pay the employer’s share of the insurance plans for their workers--including the employer's share for the typical $15,200 family insurance plan--or drop insurance for all their employees and pay a maximum fee of only a $750 per employee.

Hmmmm. I really don't see a tough choice for employers, do you?

That little loophole was put in to guarantee that as many people as possible are put on the government plan, of course. Single Payer or Bust, eh, Harry?

Combine this with Nancy Pelosi's version of health care, and not only will the cost of your insurance be steep, but so will the penalties for not getting it. (via The Hill)

The nonpartisan Joint Committee on Taxation reported that the House version of the healthcare bill specifies that those who don’t buy health insurance and do not pay the fine of about 2.5 percent of their income for failing to do so can face a penalty of up to five years in prison!

The bill describes the penalties as follows:

• Section 7203 — misdemeanor willful failure to pay is punishable by a fine of up to $25,000 and/or imprisonment of up to one year.

• Section 7201 — felony willful evasion is punishable by a fine of up to $250,000 and/or imprisonment of up to five years.” [page 3]

So, would that be the whole family in jail, or just the breadwinner? May as well put the whole family in - at least that way they will be guaranteed three squares, cable tv and a roof over their heads.

The Progressive Agenda - destroying America one family at a time.

BTW - don't forget that on top of the new premiums, these families are also going to be taxed to within an inch of their lives to pay for the 18 million who are getting the subsidies that they can't....
Read more...

Tuesday, December 15, 2009

The unprecidented strong arm Chicago style tactics being used by this administration have officially reached new lows.

When Joe Lieberman decided to vote against the health care horror Harry Reid is desperately trying to cram down our throats, democratic operatives decided that the best way to 'persuade' him was to go after his wife.

Hadassah Leiberman is a global ambassador for the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Foundation. Liberal activists are busily trying to recruit celebrities to force the Komen board to remove Hadassah from her position. As of this posting, the foundation is refusing. Now that Lieberman has come out for the bill the pressure will stop.

It disgusts me that it was applied at all. I feel like we're in a Godfather film. Nice wife ya got there, Joey - hate to see anything happen to her....

The other reprehensible thing that is going on in the name of 'health care reform' is in Nebraska.

Sen. Ben Nelson is being threatened with a military base closure if he doesn't vote for this boondoggle. Am I the only one completely appalled by this threat, which would profoundly effect jobs, families and the finances of thousands of Americans?

This government is actively, knowingly attacking it's own citizens, threatening harm to them if their chosen representatives don't toe the democrat party line. The democrats have hung a sword of Damocles over the American people's heads - they are ruling by the politics of fear.

They aren't just using aversion therapy to get their way, however. They are also trying to woo Nelson with the promise of a 'blank check', Mary Landrieu style.

How are we the people going to pay every recalcitrant senator or representative hundreds of millions of dollars to buy their votes in the midst of economic collapse and 10% unemployment? Won't that policy just encourage them to revolt in order to get extra 'sweeteners' so they can balance their bad votes with bribes of pet projects back home, hopefully ensuring reelection?

How much more of this can the American people take?

This administration is mortgaging our children's and grandchildren's futures in the name of legislation that is anything but 'free' (how can something that costs $2.5 trillion be considered free?!), promises to raise our taxes AND our insurance premiums, and will result in rationed care, overworked doctors and nurses and government intervention in every aspect of our lives.

Monday, December 14, 2009

I often try to read the books my 13 year old daughter is reading. Sometimes all I can manage is skimming the books, because she is a voracious reader and it is hard to keep up. I do this for two reasons - I want to be able to talk to her about things she is interested in, but I also do it to make sure she is reading things that are age appropriate. There are many books out there for teen girls that have content that would make a grown adult blush, which is why I like books like the Twilight series so much. Grand romance without gratuitous sex - a rare thing, these days.

Unfortunately, my diligence in shielding my children from inappropriate sexual content seems to be all for naught.

Our 'Safe Schools Czar', Kevin Jennings, is doing his level best to make all of my efforts to protect my children from the depravities of the world completely useless. If this man has his way, my children will get an education unlike anything I'd ever expected.

Some of the curricula Mr. Jennings is pushing at a GLSEN conference is highly questionable at best, pornographic and exceedingly inappropriate at worst. Gateway Pundit has the rundown. Warning: very explicit content.

Mr. Jennings insists that he was unaware of the material being showcased at the conference, but, according to a Massachusetts teacher who attended the conference, Mr. Jennings was not just aware, but was the driving force behind it. Hot Air's Ed Morrissey has the video. Warning: the end of the post has a graphic that is, well, pretty graphic.

Now, I'm no prude, and I think a certain amount of age-appropriate sex ed is healthy, but this is NOT. These books teach deviant behavior, promiscuity and promote homosexuality. I have no problem with homosexuality, but I do have a problem with it being forced on my children and treated as something everyone does, implying my children should try it.

I was going to exerpt some of the passages, but, quite frankly, the material is far too offensive.

I don't know about you, but the 'Safe Schools Czar' is making me feel pretty unsafe.

Saturday, December 12, 2009

Here's a great article on the upcoming History Channel presentation of 'The People Speak', via Michelle Malkin.

I like the History Channel. I watch it on a nearly daily basis. I have been seeing the ads for this show and have been wondering what it will be all about. Considering the line-up of far left actors in the promo and the communist clenched fist logo, I was assuming it would be pretty liberal leaning.

I was right.

The creator of this newest piece of indoctrination is apparently a marxist 'historian' who feels that too many facts are being taught in our schools.

“There is no such thing as pure fact,” Zinn asserts.

The show is, according to Malkin, a military bashing, free market hating, white oppression touting liberal extravaganza, written, co-produced and bankrolled by Howard Zinn and actor Matt Damon.

The fact that they have a documentary isn't the problem. You can just change the channel if you don't want to watch it.

The fact that they also have a teaching plan to go with the documentary for when it is shown in schools nationwide is a problem, however. A big problem.

The indoctrination of our children is going strong, and Hollywood is upping the ante with their star power.

Please read Ms. Malkin's whole article - it's quite an eye-opener. The description of the math program Mr. Zinn and his cohorts are promoting will make your jaw drop.

If your child's school decides to run this program, demand an opt-out. I know I will.
Read more...

Tuesday, December 8, 2009

Am I the only one who has a problem with the EPA declaring my very existence - the subconscious action of breathing - to be a hazard to human health and to the environment? How can a gas that we exhale and plants inhale be toxic?

I feel like I'm living in '1984'. Someday, when the corporate money flow dries up from excessive green taxation, are they going to start counting our exhalations and tax us accordingly? Yeah, it seems a little ridiculous, but, hey, the foot is in the door now, so you just never know....

What this is really all about is a back door to Cap and Trade.

The democrats know that Cap and Trade legislation is DOA. The bill wasn't popular before ClimateGate; support is cratering now.

The naysayers are in a sunset phase with a spectacular climax just before they subside from view.

Since the administration knows they don't have a chance in hades of passing their cap and tax scheme, they are going to use the EPA to call CO2 a poisonous gas so that they can regulate and tax it that way.

I was a child in the 1970's and 80's, and as such, was taught about the horrors of socialism and communism. I remember seeing the news reports of bread lines and depravation in the USSR and we were taught that the Cold War was being waged to keep such atrocities from our own shores.

One of the catch-phrases of my youth was 'Better dead than red'. If someone said they were a socialist or communist, they were shunned as anti-American. And rightly so, in my opinion, because socialism and communism are the polar opposites of what America stands for. When I was a child, they stood for depravation, oppression and despair.

It is amazing the difference 20 years and a new generation makes. Nowadays, our children are being taught that communism is a good thing. They are being taught that it's all about the community and utopian society - it is a kinder, gentler communism these days. The Cold War is not taught. The depravations are not taught. Our children don't hear about the millions who risked and often lost their lives to escape the iron fist.

The heroes of today's college students are Che Guevara, a cold-blooded killer, and Chairman Mao, a man who slaughtered literally millions of his own countrymen. Slaughter in the name of 'social justice' is apparently okay these days. Not to mention Che is now celebrated as a 'freedom fighter', which is ironic in the extreme, since Cubans have been fleeing his brand of 'freedom' for decades.

They talk about the 'fairness' of socialism - and even communism - everyone is equal, financially and materially. If you can't do for yourself, others will do for you. The 'what's yours is mine' theory of governance. Capitalism, on the other hand, is the evil machine of greedy corporations. out to enslave us all. Personally, I'll take capitalist slavery over socialist any day - at least there are flatscreen tvs, luxury items galore and all the food you can buy under capitalism....

But, as my generation knows, the reality of socialism and communism is far from fair. You can already see the pattern emerging in our own country - the ranks of the poor are swelling, as are the ranks of the rich ruling class. The middle class is being taxed into extinction; those taxes benefit the political elites, who then allow a small amount to trickle down to the peons in the welfare class in order to buy votes, keeping the powerful elites in office.

A quick study of the former Soviet Union shows that the masses were at the mercy of the political elites, relying on them to dole out, at their discretion, such basic necessities as bread and even toilet paper. The elites, on the other hand, were obscenely rich, wanted for nothing, waited in no lines, and answered to no one. It was a case study in mass victimization, and it is headed our way.

It is no longer 'creeping socialism' - it is full steam ahead for the socialists in power today. They have taken over our banks, private companies, car companies, media, transportation - we can't even get a college loan for our kids without going through the government. Don't even get me started on health care - they will be regulating the food we are allowed to eat, how much we are allowed to weigh, the treatments we will be allowed to receive, and they will even come into our homes and tell us how to raise our children.

We must begin to educate our children to the horrors of socialism and communism while we can. Our schools refuse to do it, and so we must take it upon ourselves. The indoctrination of our youth is not just in what they are being taught, it's what they are NOT being taught, too. I'm not just talking about the horrors of socialism/communism, but the wonders of America, the things that make this country great - our history, our exceptionalism are not being taught either, and should be. Civic pride is not a sin.

Friday, December 4, 2009

Who is the defiler? CBS. Now, I know that sex sells and shocking people equals ratings, but come on! Do we really have to pervert a beloved children's classic?

In a cross-promo effort, CBS took video footage from Frosty the Snowman (airing on Dec. 18th) and added an audio track of Barney from 'How I Met Your Mother'. Be warned: you will never look at Frosty the same way again. Be sure to check out the second video on the website featuring Charlie Sheen from 'Two and a Half Men', if you can take it - Frosty gets VD, among other highlights.

Like many stay-at-home moms, I am in charge of the family budget. And, like many families these days, it is getting harder and harder to make ends meet. Clipping coupons helps, of course, as well as cutting back on luxuries and certain household expenses. But sometimes it seems like an exercise in futility.

Rep. Bennie Thompson D-MS is under an ethics investigation. Mr. Thompson is chair of the House Committee on Homeland Security, and in late March he convened a hearing where he warned Visa, Mastercard and other credit card companies that they would be facing expensive new rules for tighter security standards in the near future.

Unfortunately, Mr. Thompson is not really in a position to make such threats - this is more the purview of the Finance and Judiciary Committees (although committees sometimes do overlap). One would imagine the Homeland Security Committee would have more important things to discuss, though - Ft. Hood and the NY terror plot come to mind.

Some of his staff wondered if there might be an ulterior motive to the credit card threats. Interestingly enough, he amassed over $15,000 in 'campaign contributions' within weeks of his warning.

An ethics review was launched in early summer, prompted by a former committee aide who claimed she was fired when she complained about improper requests from lobbyists. The credit card threats are only a part of the multi-pronged investigation, including a committe oversight hearing Thompson held at his Mississippi alma mater basically outlining how minority and disadvantaged businesses can score government contracts. The hearing sounded more like a job interview, with many of the potential job candidates eventually contributing to Mr. Thompson's campaign coffers.

So far, no legislation has been proposed regarding credit card security.

This story makes me crazy.

One of the reasons it has been harder to balance the family budget has been increases in credit card fees and interest rates.

And now, reading the Washington Post article, I wonder if the sudden jump in interest rates for most of us is because the companies were back loading funds to offset the threatened new taxes by this greedy little piggy, drunk with power and looking to score.

On top of that, his doling out of prize (taxpayer funded) contracts to donors is costing us, too, so he's getting us coming and going. One would assume the donors are asking for extra funds, too, so that they can properly 'thank' their benefactor. Political money laundering extraordinaire....

Wednesday, December 2, 2009

Tomorrow must be a day ending in -y, because the White House is holding another summit. This time it's for Joe Biden's favorite three letter word - jobs.

Interesting that they aren't inviting the Chamber of Commerce to the summit, though. One would imagine it might be a good idea to give a seat at the table to the group that represents small business. You know - the creators of 64% of all jobs in the country?

But instead, in their now typical fashion, they are mad at the Chamber and are refusing to talk to them. 'Cause they're totally mean and, like, totally dissed ObamaCare. And that was, like, seriously uncool. So the administration's not going to, like, talk to them until they apologize and junk. You know?

So who is going?

Well, it's the usual lineup. Unions, academics, and CEO's - many of them major donors, of course. Pretty much the same crew who gave us the first stimulus bill.

Really instills confidence, huh? Here's hoping this is really only a glorified photo op to make it look like he is working hard at something for the 'working families' he keeps yammering about, much like some other summits this White House has indulged in. God forbid we get Stimulus II out of it.

Tuesday, December 1, 2009

According to Rasmussen Reports, 71% of Americans are angry at the Federal Government. Of those 71%, 46% are Very Angry. Count me in that group.

The number of Americans angry is up 5 points from September. More telling is the fact that the Very Angry group has grown by 10% in the same amount of time.

The anger is rising, and it isn't just on the right.

Here's the big question, though - will the most tone-deaf administration in our country's short history pay attention to what the polls are telling them?

My guess? A big, fat, expensive NO.

This part of the article is particularly telling:

The latest numbers show that only nine percent (9%) of voters trust the judgment of America’s political leaders more than the judgment of the American people. Seventy-four percent (74%) place more trust in the wisdom of the crowd.

Seventy-one percent (71%) believe the federal government has become a special interest group that looks out primarily for its own interests. Sixty-eight percent (68%) believe that government and big business work together in ways that hurt consumers and investors.

Interesting, considering those in the government are always blaming special interests and big business for all of our troubles.

Who would have thought I would ever agree so whole-heartedly with this administration on something?

Oh, and apparently being a memeber of Congress is the least-respected job one can hold right now - an honor previously held by those evil CEO's.